Siena is a small town. Unlike the collection of sights in Florence and Rome, Siena has to be seen as a whole. The Gothic soul is easy to explore: flower-decked wells in numerous courtyards, modest churches and dead-end alleys.

Climb the claustrophobic stairs to the top of the 100-yard-tall bell tower and experience urban harmony at its best.

Maybe the best example of an organically grown city, never disturbed by major wars and outside forces.

Il Campo, Siena’s great central piazza, with its gently tilted floor fanning out from the city hall tower, is like a people-friendly stage set. It’s a perfect place to spend a morning. Twice a year, they race horses around this marvelous place. A spectacle we gladly missed.

The ultimate of medieval churches is Siena’s cathedral. Its striped facade is piled with statues and ornamentation.

And the brilliant interior, decorated from top to bottom, comes with the heads of 172 popes peering down from the ceiling over the fine inlaid art on the floor.

This is as bizarre as Gothic gets.

Not a religious person, I dreamed of speaking from this miraculous pulpit.

If you hate traffic, this is your city. A complete traffic-free core, with the first European square to go pedestrian in the 60’s.